Unreal: Online Misinformation, Deep Fakes, and Youth

Date

November 2024

Ages & Stages

(3-5 yrs) Preschoolers

(6-10 yrs) Elementary School

(11-13 yrs) Middle School

(14-18 yrs) High Schoolers

Topics

Media Literacy

Brain and Cognition

Spotting deep fakes and misinformation online is increasingly difficult for adults–so what about children?

Children and Screens held the #AskTheExperts webinar “Unreal: Online Misinformation, Deep Fakes, and Youth” on Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 12pm ET. A panel of cognitive development and digital literacy experts explored how children perceive reality, factors that may make them cognitively susceptible to misinformation, and what parents, caregivers, and educators should know to help children think critically and develop skills to navigate misinformation and deep fakes in their digital lives.

Speakers

Diana Graber

Author, "Raising Humans in a Digital World,"; Founder, Cyber Civics and Cyberwise

Moderator
Imran Ahmed

Founder and CEO, Center for Countering Digital Hate
Joel Breakstone, PhD

Executive Director, Digital Inquiry Group
Andrew Shtulman, PhD

Professor of Psychology, Occidental College
Rakoen Maertens, PhD

Juliana Cuyler Matthews Junior Research Fellow in Psychology, New College, University of Oxford

Resources Mentioned During the Webinar

00:00:11 – Introductions by Executive Director of Children and Screens Kris Perry

00:01:40 – Moderator Diana Graber introduces the topic of misinformation, including key definitions

00:09:07 – Rakoen Maertens on the cognitive science of misinformation, including why people create, spread, and believe misinformation, and how to protect against it

00:18:27 – Moderator follow-up: What specific skills do kids need most to prepare themselves for evaluating misinformation? What should elementary or middle schools focus on?

00:20:48 – Andrew Shtulman on how children’s cognitive development impacts their processing of real and fake information online

00:30:18 – Moderator follow-up: At what age do children begin to understand digital reality versus manipulated content?

00:32:45 – Imran Ahmed on deepfakes, AI, and other forms of disinformation created and disseminated by bad actors, their impacts on youth, and how society could address it

00:48:11 – Moderator follow-up: What advice would you give to parents of children with YouTube and TikTok channels?

00:49:47 – Joel Breakstone on youth digital literacy and how children can learn to determine fact from fiction online

01:00:15 – Moderator follow-up: Is there a push for Congress or schools to mandate digital media literacy lessons?

01:02:08 – The panel addresses questions from the audience.

01:02:21 – Q&A: How can people recognize mis/disinformation when there’s a kernel of truth in it?

01:04:26 – Q&A: What would you tell a teen to look for when determining whether something is a deepfake?

01:05:57 – Q&A: How do we support children who feel they cannot trust anything, whether it is a trusted source or not?

01:13:07 – Q&A: What are developmentally appropriate ways to introduce and discuss this with children of different ages?

01:15:57 – Q&A: How do you teach youth to learn from the news or fact-check when so much is behind a paywall?

01:18:55 – Q&A: Is active, open-minded thinking more of a skill or personality trait?

01:20:39 – Q&A: Should parents keep their children away from media entirely?

01:23:23 – Closing remarks from Children and Screens’ Executive Director Kris Perry.

A full transcript for this webinar will be made available soon.